This company would be unstoppable IF they found a way to couple their high product integrity & professional service with modern digital marketing techniques/processes. Please consider that when I directly asked 10+ marketers if they would take a salary pay cut for more competitive pricing on prospective business, they all said yes. You hire good people; give them the chance to prove it.

Very average pay (SERIOUSLY, I know they painted a beautiful picture, but keep reading the full review).

In the interview, when they show you "AVERAGE PAY" for a marketing rep, you MUST KNOW THIS: There are a handful of reps who make about millions/year and this throws off the numbers CONSIDERABLY.

I was told that one of these "super reps" lives in the same neighborhood as Prince.

You need to have 3 things to make that "average" number. EVEN IF YOU ARE AN "ABOVE AVERAGE" rep.

I earned Chairman's Council many years in a row and made less than HALF of the AVERAGE pay that they tout in the interviews.

You need THREE things to make the real money. 1) Activity 2) Talent 3) Luck... yes, you need to be in a territory that has the right kinds of large accounts that will end up paying the large commissions. Some have it, most don't.

Think that's garbage or sour grapes? If I hadn't lived it, I would think that was garbage too. We make our own luck in sales, right? Yes.... but you can't make petroleum accounts appear where there are not any within a territory. You can't make million dollar premium machine shops appear where there are not any. There ARE differences from territory to territory.

You need an above average territory for above average pay... it was a tough lesson for me to learn, even after earning multiple Chairman's Councils in a row. I made a fraction of the "average pay" for a rep.

Also, know that the underwriting appetite changes constantly. You might be hot on a type of business and able to write it consistently for a few months, before underwriting panics and decides they no longer want that type of business (they will say they DO want it, just at a MUCH, MUCH higher price...). But in reality, they don't want it and they quote an unrealistic price and unrealistic RENEWAL pricing for your existing accounts, just to get them off the books.

They say everything is a cycle. I tripled the size of my territory in 5 years. Then in the course of just over a year, underwriting walked away from 65% of all of that business that I had written, cutting my income by tens of thousands of dollars. I don't want to ride that "cycle." It would be fine if I earned that "average" money they talk about, but I didn't.

If you jump in and expect to get rich, you should work to take over a territory of a guy who is retiring and is rich already. If they say there aren't any of those territories open... well, of course there aren't. The open territory they are offering is open because it wasn't that desirable. The rich guys stay in their territory to keep making money!

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Pay your good people more.... considerably more. You lose talent and flounder to replace them, forcing yourself to pay untrained NEW people more than you paid experienced, award-winning reps.

I have been working at Federated Insurance full-time (more than 10 years)

Pros

Professional atmosphere, great people to work with, work-life balance, less than 10 minute 'commute' if you live in Owatonna.

Cons

Career development is highly dependent on who you know versus what you know. It's a good stepping stone, but recommend not buying into the 'it's a great place to work for 30+ years'. Start here to get some good training and experience and move onto another company that will offer you more challenges and a more progressive career path.

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Consider the talent you have in those that have worked at the company 10 - 20 years and look to give them more career growth opportunities. Consider providing better compensation for these employees as well. The base compensation always rises for the new guys, but the rest of us get a minimal raise at best.

Great starting place for salespersons.. After Fed training you have your pic of companies to work forHigh starting salary for Marketing Rep's (72K)Room for making good money depending on territory you are assigned (can also be terrible depending on territory)Defined territoriesSome of the best training in the industryGood work life balance

Cons

Typical "drink the cool-ade mentallity"At times it seems like the company doesn't actually want to write businessManager's are either great or terrible and micro to the n'th degreeMnagers almost scare marketer's into never leaving (I've never met anyone who has left Fed that is in a better place now-- this IS 100% FALSE... I am and I know plenty of people who are)Tought to move vertically without living in Owatonna MN aka Alaskka

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Get more consistent with writing business.. clients hate that one year you are the cheapest, they move business to you, and then the next year you price yourself out of the ball game bc your appetite has changed..Also, give marketers more broad knowledge of the industry, don't train marketers to think that all other companies are inferior bc I assure you there are some big players who focus on the competitve landscape and are killing it

Flexible working schedulesPeople are greatExtensive training programBenefits on par with other companiesGym facilitiesPension planManagement support (with the right managers)Community involved company

Cons

Very one track career oriented companyTakes some time for promotions or promotions seem to be "given away"Pay lower than major citiesLocated in a smaller townVery formal companyStrict procedures/Very set in their waysNot very progressive in business/technologyUpper management will always be from a marketing/sales side of the company

Advice to ManagementAdvice

Be open to new ideas for doing things within the company. Expand your horizons. Invest time and energy in new views/ways of doing things to attract people.